The value of a case before the UPC will be determinative of court fees and the applicable ceilings for recoverable costs. So the UPC Administrative Committee's publication of guidance on the determination of the value of a case before the UPC, alongside guidance on the scale of ceilings for recoverable costs, is welcome. Read more

In order to ensure a unified, European and consistent appearance and content of orders and decisions of the UPC, a set of four templates (two for the CFI and two for the CoA) have been prepared and published by the UPC along with a series of non-binding "Guidances" aimed at facilitating the use of the templates by the judges of the UPC. Representatives of parties using making applications to the UPC are also suggested to follow the drafting guidance when making requests to the court, so these are in a format that corresponds to the possible format of the decision or order sought. Read more

After years of debate and preparation, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is set to start accepting cases on 1 June 2023. We invite you to join our pan-European IP team for a webinar on 29 March 2023 as we assess the biggest shake-up in the region's approach to IP for a generation. The changes will impact on those with European patents (EPs) as well as those selling into or operating in Europe even if they do not have EPs. Our leading lawyers from Düsseldorf, Milan, Paris and London will explain what you need to know and what you should be doing now to prepare for the UPC and unitary patent (UP). Read more

The UPC website has announced today that the start date for the sunrise period will be delayed until 1 March 2023 to allow users to prepare themselves for the strong authentication required to access the UPC's case management system (CMS) and to sign documents.  Previously the sunrise period was due to start on 1 January 2023.  This delay means that that start date for the UPC will also be pushed back by two months, to 1 June 2023 (rather than 1 April). The UPC site says that no further delay is anticipated. This June start date would require Germany to deposit its instrument of ratification of the UPC Agreement in February. Read more

Following the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Administrative Committee's appointment of 85 legal and technical judges last month, including the appointment of two legally qualified judges in the Milan local division, Herbert Smith Freehills' Joint Global Head of Intellectual Property Laura Orlando shares her insights with Managing IP on what this may mean for the UPC. Read more

Following the Rules of Procedure of the new court coming into force in September, the UPC's Administrative Committee confirms timetable leading up to the start of the new court and availability of unitary patents and the opt-out sunrise period. Read more

The creation ("minting") and sale and use of NFTs raises many IP issues which we have discussed in our previous posts in our IP in NFTs series. However, brand owners and product manufacturers must also be vigilant in monitoring the virtual marketplaces to ensure that third parties are not creating NFTs that infringe their own IP rights.  This is especially true where the company is considering releasing or has released NFTs, because the public will begin to associate the brand with NFTs (which could include infringing NFTs).  There are several strategies that companies could adopt to minimise this risk. Read more